Shoo-fly plant (Nicandra physaloides) - seeds - whitefly repellent

The Apple of Peru is a fascinating, fast-growing ornamental plant that enriches any cottage garden with its delicate flowers and decorative seed pods – all while serving as a natural pest repellent.

Package contents: 20 seeds each

Sowing at a glance:

Growth & Appearance

• Life cycle: Annual, but grows extremely rapidly.

• Height: Can reach an impressive 100 to 150 cm (sometimes up to 200 cm).

• Habit: Very bushy, strongly branched with large, serrated leaves.

• Flowers & Fruit: From July to October, it produces beautiful, light blue to violet bell-shaped flowers with a white throat. These later develop into parchment-like, green to black-violet lanterns (similar to Physalis), which enclose a brown berry.

Origin: Its original home is in the Andes of South America, specifically in Peru. From there, it made its way into European gardens as an ornamental plant.

Ingredients (IMPORTANT NOTE): Attention: As the German name "Giftbeere" (poison berry) suggests, all parts of the plant are poisonous! It belongs to the nightshade family and contains various alkaloids (such as nicandrin) as well as withanolides. The plant (and especially the roots and unripe berries) is purely decorative and not suitable for consumption!

Use

• In the garden: A magnificent structural plant for gaps in the flower bed or as a decorative privacy screen for the summer.

• Floristry: The dried, violet-black lanterns are an absolute eye-catcher in autumnal arrangements and dried bouquets.

• Plant protection: Often used as a "guardian plant" (see Curiosities).

History: In the English-speaking world, it is known as the "Shoo-fly plant." It was planted in greenhouses and cottage gardens early on, as it was believed to have the ability to keep annoying insects away.

Curiosities

• The Tomato Bodyguard: Gardeners swear by planting the Apple of Peru next to tomatoes or in the greenhouse. It is said to attract the notorious whitefly and either neutralize or repel it.

• One-day flowers: Their enchanting blue flowers usually open only in the late morning and fade after just a few hours – but it tirelessly produces new ones all summer long!

Location and care

• Location: Sunny to partially shaded.

• Soil: Undemanding, but loves loose, nutrient-rich soil.

• Care & Propagation: Completely low-maintenance. If it likes the location, it will happily self-seed for the next year. If you don't want this, cut off the lanterns before they turn brown and burst open.

Planting out & Location

• Outdoors: Started plants can move outside from mid-May.

• Plant spacing: Be careful, the plant becomes very large and bushy! Definitely give it enough space. A distance of at least 40 to 50 cm from the next plant is ideal.